When Marcelle Chaumont entered Madeleine Vionnet’s newly established fashion house in 1912, she quickly became one of her closest collaborators. By 1922, Maison Vionnet moved into a vast townhouse belonging to Counts Lariboisiere on 50 Avenue Montaigne, and came to be one of the most prestigious haute couture houses of the interwar period. It closed its doors in 1940 and Marcelle Chaumont opened her own establishment on 19 Avenue Georges V, where she hired young Pierre Cardin as a seamster. Following in the footsteps of Madeleine Vionnet, Marcelle Chaumont called upon some of the greatest designers of the Art Deco period for the interior design of her new showroom and private residence on Petrarque Square, including Jean-Michel Frank, Rhulmann, Dunand and Lalique.

Her luxurious townhouse was specifically decorated by Jean-Michel Frank, who thoughtfully placed his parchment pieces alongside Giacometti lighting. The crowning glory of this residence was the grand salon decorated with exceptional straw marquetry wood panels framing a sumptuous leather sofa and a pair of armchairs. Completing the salon was a cozy corner with a small shagreen mosaic table and this pair of armchairs.

They are called “Cole Porter” chairs in honor of the American jazz musician.